Division of Medical Education MPhil/PhD

Many of our research students are practicing doctors, so their doctoral qualifications help them attain high quality posts as NHS consultants but also with roles in medical education at local/national and international influence. UCL Medical School's ethos is to encourage and sustain research by providing a supportive, inclusive culture and infrastructure.

Key Information

Modes and duration

Full-time: 3 years

Part-time: 5 years

Tuition Fees (2015/16)

UK/EU:

£4,635 (FT)£2,315 (PT)

Overseas:

£21,530 (FT)£10,765 (PT)

Application deadlines

Research degrees may start at any time of the year, but typically start in September. Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit (contact listed in Next steps, right) to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. In most cases you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. For more information see our How to apply page.

Entry Requirements

A primary medical qualification and Master’s level study, preferably in the field of education or medical education, from a UK university or an overseas qualification of an equivalent standard.

English Language Requirements

If your education has not been conducted in the English language, you will be expected to demonstrate evidence of an adequate level of English proficiency.

International students

Country-specific information, including details of when UCL representatives are visiting your part of the world, can be obtained from the International Students website.

International applicants can find out the equivalent qualification for their country by selecting from the list below.

Select your country:

International equivalencies

Overview

UCLMS is committed to the research driven education and training of healthcare professionals. We have a wide range of research interests.

Research areas

Assessment

Communication skills

E-learning

Equality and diversity in medical education

Fitness to practise of doctors

Interprofessional education

Peer-assisted learning

Professional identity

Selection

Medical revalidation

Transitions

Work-based learning.

Funding

Scholarships relevant to this department are displayed below. For a comprehensive list of the funding opportunities available at UCL, including funding relevant to your nationality, please visit the Scholarships and Funding website.

Careers

A PhD in medical education prepares graduates for a substantive future career as an educational researcher. Whilst many clinical practitioners will continue to practice in healthcare this award carries with it the opportunity to develop an academic role either in undergraduate or postgraduate education. The doctoral qualifications have helped our graduates attain high quality posts as NHS consultants or academics in university settings with complementary roles in medical education with local/national and international influence.

Employability

Many former students and clinical practitioners have continued to practise in healthcare whilst playing a significant role in local education programmes.One former (non-clinical) PhD student remained in the department and was successful in securing a senior lectureship in Medical Education and now plays an important part in the curriculum design of the undergraduate MBBS programme. Graduates of UCLMS research degrees have gone on to senior positions in other medical schools and in the postgraduate sector.

Networking

Each year UCL Medical School hosts a Medical Education conference in which research students are encouraged to run workshops and take the opportunity to network with medical educationalists from the UK and internationally who come to share examples of good practice and their own research findings. Academics and research students are also encouraged to attend local, national and international medical education conferences, such as the annual Association of Medical Education in Europe Conference. Researchers are often involved in the teaching of taught undergraduate and graduate programmes at UCL.

Why study this degree at UCL?

UCLMS provides the educational leadership and infrastructure for about 2,100 medical undergraduates and 120 postgraduate students. Academic staff at UCLMS have nationally and internationally recognised expertise in medical education. USLMS has a wide range of experienced staff that includes doctor, nurses, psycologists and educationalists. The intra-professional nature of the team encourages vitality and innovation in a broad variety of education research and knowledge transfer activities.

UCL Medical School has been ranked the top medical school in London, based on student satisfication data, for the past four years, and is ranked the third best in the UK according to the Guardian League tables fir 2015. The QS World University Rankings rank UCLMS seventh best in the world.

Degree reviews

Student review

"The UCL Doctoral School provides a large selection of high-quality courses to support the graduate student. My PhD supervisors have been particularly supportive in providing me with networking opportunities and I have met some very interesting people."

Dr Emily Unwin

Subject: Division of Medical Education MPhil

Application and next steps

Applications

Students are advised to apply as early as possible due to competition for places. Those applying for scholarship funding (particularly overseas applicants) should take note of application deadlines.

Who can apply?

Application deadlines

Research degrees may start at any time of the year, but typically start in September. Deadlines and start dates are usually dictated by funding arrangements so check with the department or academic unit (contact listed in Next steps, right) to see if you need to consider these in your application preparation. In most cases you should identify and contact potential supervisors before making your application. For more information see our How to apply page.